Giving less advice

I’m often asked for advice. I’ve decided it’s time I give less of it. There are things I used to know that I just don’t know anymore. I should stop talking about those things – it’s unfair to anyone who’s listening.

If you want advice on product design, copywriting, reducing complexity, business strategy for a well-established small business, or building a team – happy to help. I know I can be valuable there because those are things I’m thinking about and working on every day. I’m current.

But if you want advice on how to start a new business, how to get your first customer, how to hire your first employee, or anything related to starting something brand new, I’m not your man. It’s been 15 years since I started my company. I just don’t remember what it’s like anymore. I’m out of touch.

Advice, like fruit, is best when it’s fresh. But advice quickly decays, and 15 year-old advice is bound to be radioactive. Sharing a life experience is one thing (grandparents are great at this – listen to them!), but advice is another thing. Don’t give advice about things you used to know. Just because you did something a long time ago doesn’t mean you’re qualified to talk about it today.

Think you’ll get a good answer from a 30 year old telling you what it’s like to be 15? Or a 20 year old remembering what it’s like to be 5? Shit, I’m about to turn 40, and all I remember about being 25 is that I wasn’t 26. How clearly do you really remember anything from 15 years ago? And how many of those memories are actually marred by time and current experiences? How many of those things really happened the way you recall them today?

If you want to know what it’s like to start a business, talk to someone who just successfully started one. If you want to know what it’s like to hire your first employee, talk to someone who just successfully hired theirs. If you want to know what it’s like to make an investment, talk to someone who just made a successful one.

While distance from the event itself can provide broader perspective, the closer you get to the event, the fresher the experience. If I want to know what something’s really like, I’d take a fresh recollection over a fuzzy memory. I think the same is true for advice.

Sean

on 13 Feb 14

Love this man, I feel the same way. This is one reason when I see people like Gary Vaynerchuk giving marketing advice I’m thinking “Well, that’s all stuff that you are doing, so that stuff is great” but when he is giving advice on starting new businesses I think “Well, you got started at a different time with completely different circumstances than there are right now, so how can you be so sure that would work?” This is also why my personal drafts list is so long and probably wont ever be touched, because if I’m not inspired enough to write about something that I’m currently interested in, I definitely wont write it when I’m no longer interested.

Sam Holman

on 13 Feb 14

I couldn’t agree more – not only does memory fade and fuzz, but the state of the world is always moving. Starting a business, employing staff, making or seeking investment – these are all potentially different tasks than they were some years ago, with different difficulties. Only someone going through these things recently can remember them well, and relate to the current situation.

Matt Rutledge

on 13 Feb 14

So like 10 minutes ago this would have been good advice. Now what.

Amrita

on 13 Feb 14

Love this. This makes me consider why we should be careful about borrowing ideas/design/copy from companies—an indirect form of advice. How a company communicates when they have a known product or are in a known market is likely irrelevant to a startup with a product in a new category or a business no one has heard of.

Michal

on 13 Feb 14

This is so very well written and thought of. It reminds me of the writings from Derek Sivers. Nice job!

Jamal

on 13 Feb 14

Great post, Jason. Reminds me of something a good friend once told me: “When someone gives you advice, keep in mind that it’s often them giving advice to themself in the past.”

A

on 13 Feb 14

I kinda want to hear the stale advice too. There’s timeless lessons in everything. In the technology world we have this illusion that we’re always moving forward, when in reality we often re-invent solutions to problems that were already solved just fine.

But in general I agree… the best way to learn about something is to talk to somebody who just did it.

Brandon

on 13 Feb 14

This is a paradox of sorts. The reason being that we often don’t want the advice from that person until much later when “proven” successful. We want to see someone running a super successful company before we ask for advice from them. At that point, they are usually years removed from these choices.

Mark

on 13 Feb 14

Valid point and will certainly give me pause the next time I feel the need to give advice to my children.

Curious though, how do your thoughts on advice parallel with your recent proclamation of personal refunds of product recommendations you provide on Twitter? Do recommendations have a shelf life as well?

Michael

on 13 Feb 14

I agree and have been watching myself in this area as well. That said, there is much benefit to hearing older ways of doing things. Maybe advice from a generation ago isn’t old enough to provide a startling insight and isn’t new enough to be relevant. It’s in a valley like something that’s just junk and not an antique yet.

Nitpick: “But advice quickly decays, and 15 year-old advice is bound to be radioactive.” I think you meant to say that advice is radioactive from the start and has a short half-life, and 15-year-old advice is mostly a stable isotope by now. ;)

ED

on 13 Feb 14

Don’t sell yourself so short. Advice is best served with humble pie. Instead of taking the approach that the information you have will not add value, consider that you are sharing wisdom. Giving advice doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the expert. It should be taken in the context that “this is some information that may help you” If the person on the receiving end doesn’t have common sense to research with patience, they fumble the ball and make the mess. We often feel bad when we’ve given advice and it doesn’t work or something disastrous happens. That’s not the fault of the person giving the advice. One can also view this as an opportunity to build a network or adding value to another person’s dream. Someone before you gave advice so you could get the information. Business practices doesn’t change…its the market that changes.; for it is written: What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-) fndwzdm!

Brandon B

on 13 Feb 14

I think part of the inherent value of advice is when the giver has the benefit of perspective. Often perspective on something is not had until long after the experience is fresh. Without perspective the value of the advice has a ceiling. Once proper perspective is had the advice may be out of date. So there are advantages and disadvantages either way. Give the advice and let the person receiving it decide if it’s relevant.

Richard

on 13 Feb 14

People rarely listen to advice anyway. I discovered a long time ago that mostly people keep asking for advice until they find the person that agrees with their own thoughts. My advice to you is to stop giving advice altogether!

Love your work Jason.

drawtheweb

on 13 Feb 14

It’s nice to see people give up in areas where they’re no longer valuable, rather than muttering ‘The Cloud’ and ‘Big Data’ as though they’re the pass-phrase for business success. Kudos.

JamesyGB

on 13 Feb 14

Any advice/and or ideas how to celebrate 40th?!

@JamesyGB

on 14 Feb 14

50 is the new 40. So if your turning 40 your really only turning 30… again. So, Jason, its like you started your company just a few years ago :)

Gregor McKelvie

on 14 Feb 14

Yeh…...... but the advice you’d give someone about starting their own business would be much better (even though it’s 15 years old) than many others out there. The reality is you have been there and done it – so the chances are that your comments on it would be smart comments. The thing that’s important is how the person who receives the advice takes it and uses it (along with other advice).

I think you’d be doing yourself an injustice and those asking you for advice an injustice if you stopped giving advice you feel is outdated.

@JohnKranz

on 14 Feb 14

Very thoughtful move on your part, Jason. I think it’s harder to let something go or to take a step back from an area you feel others may now be more qualified to address. How many folks are willing to do that?

Scott Asai

on 14 Feb 14

Love the idea that advice is like fruit, best when it’s fresh. That’s so true. What worked before may not work today. Our world moves so fast that if you don’t stay current, you’re behind. Really practical and insightful advice!

Devan

on 16 Feb 14

In a large number of cases, this is certainly true. But I think that JF has an advantage over most other entrepreneurs in that most of his advice is in hard format right here on this blog, and it the books that have been written over the past decade and a half.

15 years of knowledge and learning written WHEN is was still fresh. I think an interesting exercise will be to take a plumb line to the advice of 15 years ago versus the thoughts about the same principles NOW and see how (and WHY) they have changed.

For example, one of the famous mantras from years ago was to ‘avoid meetings’. Now that the business has grown, meetings are (I assume) necessary. When was the turning point (in terms of employee numbers). What have you gained by having meetings now? What have you lost? What would you have done differently back then?

All useful advice to a startup now, in order to separate fad from necessity. If a new business can learn in advance what NOT to do, or how to do it differently, so much the better.

This discussion is closed.

About Jason Fried

Jason co-founded Basecamp back in 1999. He also co-authored REWORK, the New York Times bestselling book on running a "right-sized" business. Co-founded, co-authored... Can he do anything on his own?